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Miscreants set afire hydraulic excavator

Miscreants set afire a hydraulic excavator and allegedly made a vain bid to burn alive its operator in the forest area near Gangaram village in Bhadrachalam mandal around midnight on Friday. Sources said that six unidentified persons set fire to a stationary hydraulic excavator hired by the Forest Department for carrying out plantation site preparation works on the outskirts of Gangaram late on Friday night. Vidyasagar, the operator of the hydraulic excavator, who was fast asleep in the cabin, suddenly woke up and jumped down from the burning machine. He tried to apprehend one of the miscreants. In the melee, the miscreants poured petrol on his body and made a vain bid to burn him alive, before fleeing. Vidyasagar, a native of Madhya Pradesh, sustained multiple burns. He alerted the Forest Department personnel concerned about the incident over his mobile phone. The forest staff reached the spot and shifted him to a hospital in Bhadrachalam. His condition was stated to be stable. The motive behind the torching of the machine remained unclear. Police suspect that it could be the handiwork of either “mischievous elements” or those having grudge against the owner of the machine. The officials of the police and Forest Departments visited the incident site in the early hours of Saturday. The Bhadrachalam rural police registered a case and are investigating.

Make a vain bid to burn alive its operator in the forest area near Gangaram village in Bhadrachalam mandal